CHEYENNE — One of the last bills working its way through the legislative process would have made it a felony to ignore a legislative subpoena.
With this aggressive approach, the Legislature would have thrown a wrench into its long-time relationship with local government entities — cities towns, counties, special districts.
Sponsored by the Legislature’s Management Audit Committee, the original bill — HB 83 — increased the penalty for failing to honor the subpoenas from $100 to $750, or six months in jail or both.
The bill sailed through the House with no nay votes. The Senate boosted the penalty to $1,000 and one year in prison, thus pushing it into the category of a felony.
The bill seemed like such a sure thing, it was listed on the senate’ “consent” list, a package of bills expected to pass easily.
After it was yanked from the list for a separate roll call vote on Thursday, it failed on a whisker-thin vote of 14 for and 15 against.
The felony level in the bill was a step too high.
It was a bad bill and probably would have been vetoed by the governor if it had passed.
The bill demonstrates what can happen when the Freedom Caucus takes over the leadership of a committee — the good and the questionable.
In this case, the committee was a minor one that had been nearly dormant recently.
The Caucus leaders found oversight authority in the statute that created the committee in the early 1970s.
They henceforth flexed their newly-found muscles.
Although this new energy was a good thing, it went too far, too fast. When the committee members began investigating the financial records of local governments and found flaws, they went into action.
They issued subpoenas to various local government entities to answer questions about problems in their bookkeeping, or other issues.
This subpoena approach had been used rarely — only once or twice.
Normally in these situations, the committee chairman would phone or write the local mayor, commissioner or clerk and invite him or her to Cheyenne to talk.
Ergo, some of the people subpoenaed were not pleased with this more aggressive approach.
It is, after all, a legal summons, not a polite invitation.
During a committee meeting in Cheyenne in October, some locals were offended by the subpoena, while others were outraged. They said they would have attended the hearing if asked to do so.
The subpoena war had its roots in the case against Weston County Clerk Becky Hadlock for her handling of the 2024 election.
Subpoenaed by the committee, apparently with only a week’s notice, Hadlock offered to appear on other dates but was rejected, according to an account by Cowboy State Daily.
Her response resulted in the committee seeking charges against Hadlock that carried a $100 fine and six-month jail term, a misdemeanor.
(The Wyoming Attorney General’s Office on Thursday filed a petition to remove Hadlock from office for alleged misconduct and malfeasance during the 2024 general election and her failure to comply with a legislative subpoena.)
Because of Hadlock’s alleged resistance, the committee voted to sponsor HB 83.
One of the major critics of the bill was Senate Majority Leader Tara Nethercroft, a Cheyenne Republican.
She objected to what she called “a policy decision.”
“What the legislature was saying was, 'We're not going to give you any notification. We're not going to ask you, and we're not going to give you any alternative options,'" Nethercott said. "You will show up when we command you to because we are the Management Audit Committee of the Wyoming Legislature and we have given ourselves this authoritarian power.”
Rep. Christopher Knapp, R-Gillette, chairman of the Management Audit Committee, earlier said the committee issued four subpoenas this year and that he called the recipients in advance and gave them the opportunity to either appear in person or by Zoom.
Only one refused to appear, he said.
Contact Joan Barron at 307-632-2534 or jmbarron@bresnan.net
